April-September minimum temperature reconstruction based on Sabina tibetica ring-width chronology in the central eastern Tibetan Plateau,China

Minimum temperatures have remarkable impacts on tree growth at high-elevation sites on the Tibetan Plateau,but the shortage of long-term and high-resolution paleoclimate records inhibits understanding of recent minimum temperature anomalies.In this study,a warm season(April–September)reconstruction is presented for the past 467 years(1550–2016)based on Sabina tibetica ring-width chronology on the Lianbaoyeze Mountain of the central eastern Tibetan Plateau.Eight warm periods and eight cold periods were identified.Long-term minimum temperature variations revealed a high degree of coherence with nearby reconstructions.Spatial correlations between our reconstruction and global sea surface temperatures suggest that warm season minimum temperature anomalies in the central eastern Tibetan Plateau were strongly influenced by large-scale ocean atmospheric circulations,such as the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation.

Characteristics of land-atmosphere energy and turbulentfluxes over the plateau steppe in central Tibetan Plateau

The land-atmosphere energy and turbulence exchange is key to understanding land surface processes on the Tibetan Plateau(TP). Using observed data for Aug. 4 to Dec. 3, 2012 from the Bujiao observation point(BJ) of the Nagqu Plateau Climate and Environment Station(NPCE-BJ), different characteristics of the energy flux during the Asian summer monsoon(ASM) season and post-monsoon period were analyzed. This study outlines the impact of the ASM on energy fluxes in the central TP. It also demonstrates that the surface energy closure rate during the ASM season is higher than that of the post-monsoon period. Footprint modeling shows the distribution of data quality assessments(QA) and quality controls(QC) surrounding the observation point. The measured turbulent flux data at the NPCE-BJ site were highly representative of the target land-use type. The target surface contributed more to the fluxes under unstable conditions than under stable conditions. The main wind directions(180° and 210°) with the highest data density showed flux contributions reaching 100%, even under stable conditions. The lowest flux contributions were found in sectors with low data density, e.g., 90.4% in the 360° sector under stable conditions during the ASM season. Lastly, a surface energy water balance(SEWAB) model was used to gap-fill any absent or corrected turbulence data. The potential simulation error was also explored in this study. The Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficients(NSEs) of the observed fluxes with the SEWAB model runs were 0.78 for sensible heat flux and 0.63 for latent heat flux during the ASM season, but unrealistic values of-0.9 for latent heat flux during the post-monsoon period.

The Low Lake-Level Record according to the Selin Co Stratigraphical Basis and Multi-Proxies during the Last Glacial Maximum in the Central Tibetan Plateau

Objective The lake levels in the eastern and southern Asia are regarded as low lake-level owing to precipitation decreasing based on the records of lake-level fluctuation in the continental interior lakes since the last glacial maximum（LGM）（14C 18±1 kaBP,since 20 kaBP）in the Central Asia.Higher lake-level appeared in the transition belt between western Kunlun Mountain and the central Tibetan Plateau.

Characteristics of soil organic carbon andtotal nitrogen storages for differentland-use types in Central Yunnan Plateau

Two-factor analysis of variance and redundancy analysis were used to analyze the characte-ristics of soil organic carbon total nitrogen storage in garden land,forestland,grassland,farmland,and bare land in the Dachunhe watershed of Jinning District,Kunming City,Yunnan Province,China.The effects of the soil organic carbon,total nitrogen stratification ratio,soil physical and chemical factors on the storage characteristics of organic carbon and total nitrogen of different land-use types were analyzed.The results show that the rates of carbon and nitrogen stratification in soil from 0-20 cm and 40-60 cm of the same land-use types differed are statistically significant(P<0.05).The organic carbon and total nitrogen stratification ratio SR1 of garden land soil are 38.5%and 25.3%,respectively,which are higher than SR^(2).The soil organic carbon and total nitrogen stratification ratio SR^(2) of different land-use types are greater than SR1.There are statistically significant differences in the SR^(2) soil organic carbon and total nitrogen stratification ratios(P<0.05).Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen storage of diffe-rent land-use types gradually decrease with increasing soil depth,with the maximum soil organic carbon and total nitrogen storage in the 0-20 cm soil layer.Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen sto-rage at the same soil depth are significantly different(P<0.05).Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen storage in the garden land are greater than those in the other land-use types.Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen storage in 0-20 cm garden land are 4.96 and 3.19 times than those in bare land,respectively;soil organic carbon and total nitrogen storage are explained by 93.66%and 1.53%in redundancy analysis RDA1 and RDA2,respectively.All physicochemical factors except Available Phosphorus and pH are statistically significance with carbon and nitrogen storage(P<0.05).Soil cationic exchange capacity,Available Phosphorus,C/N ratio,and Moisture Content are positively correlated with organic carbon and total nitrogen storage.In contrast,soil Bulk Density is negatively correlated with organic carbon storage and total nitrogen storage.Available Phosphorus,C/N ratio,and Moisture Content are the main factors promoting soil organic carbon and total nitrogen accumulation.

Analysis of Extreme Precipitation Events over Central Plateau of Iran

This paper describes the results of an analysis of extreme rainfall events in the central plateau of Iran. To study the extreme events, daily records of eighteen stations’ rainfalls in the region for different initial dates up to 2005 gathered from the bureau of meteorology. Then, the extreme rainfall threshold was calculated for each individual station using the statistical index of Gamble type I. Lastly, 22 mm was determined as the extreme rainfall value for the entire stations, and eventually 17 out of 169 extreme precipitation events were extracted in accordance with three factors including a) days with precipitation in not less than 50% of the stations, b) maximum rainfall is 22 mm or more in at least one of the stations, and c) mean precipitation of the basin is more than 3 mm. In the next step to analyze the synoptic features, the relevant meteorological data i.e. relative vorticity, geopotential height, sea level pressure, u and v wind components, relative humidity, vertical velocity, and precipitable water content at multiple levels of the atmosphere were examined from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis dataset. The synoptic findings indicate that two patterns of deep trough and high ridge of the eastern Mediterranean were responsible for making the heavy precipitation events over the central plateau of Iran. The most and severest rainfall events occurred via deep tough pattern, which covered 76% of days with extreme precipitations during the examined period. Furthermore, the results suggest that the main moisture resources, which identified by HYSPLIT model’s outputs and moisture convergence/divergence zones for the rainy systems in the first pattern (deep trough) including Persian Gulf, Oman Sea, Indian Ocean, and Red Sea, while for the second pattern (high ridge) Persian Gulf and Red Sea play a significant role in feeding the storms in the central regions of Iran. Moreover, the southward movement of Polar Vortex is also considered as those important factors to produce extreme precipitation events over the central plateau of Iran. In general, the HYSPLIT trajectories model’s outputs confirmed the observed synoptic features in particular for the systems’ moisture feeding discussed in the patterns.

Late Cretaceous K-rich rhyolitic crystal tuffs from the Chuduoqu area in Eastern Qiangtang subterrane:evidence for crustal thickening of the central Tibetan Plateau prior to India–Asia collision

In order to constrain whether the Lhasa–Qiangtang collision contributed to an early crustal thickening of the central Tibetan Plateau prior to the India–Asia collision,we present zircon LA–ICP–MS U–Pb ages,wholerock geochemistry,and zircon Hf isotopic compositions of the newly discovered rhyolitic crystal tuffs from the Chuduoqu area in the eastern Qiangtang subterrane,central Tibet.Zircon U–Pb dating suggests that the Chuduoqu rhyolitic crystal tuffs were emplaced at ca.68 Ma.The Chuoduoqu rhyolitic crystal tuffs display high SiO_(2) and K2 O,and low MgO,Cr,and Ni.Combined with their zircon Hf isotopic data,we suggest that they were derived from partial melting of the juvenile lower crust,and the magma underwent fractional crystallization and limited upper continental crustal assimilation during its evolution prior to eruption.They should be formed in a post-collisional environment related to lithospheric mantle delamination.The Chuduoqu rhyolitic crystal tuffs could provide important constraints on the Late Cretaceous crustal thickening of the central Tibetan Plateau caused by the Lhasa–Qiangtang collision.

Petrogenesis of Triassic Mafic Complexes with MORB/OIB Affinities from the Western Garzê-Litang Ophiolitic Mélange, Central Tibetan Plateau

There is a general consensus that most ophiolites formed above subduction zones(Pearce,2003),particularly during forearc extension at subduction initiation(Shervais,2001;Stern,2004;Whattam and Stern,2011).'Supra-Subduction zone'(SSZ)ophiolites such as the well-studied Tethyan ophiolites,generally display a characteristic sequential evolution from mid-oceanic ridge basalts(MORBs)to island arc tholeiities(IATs)or bonites(BONs)(Pearce,2003;Dilek and Furnes,2009,2011),which were generated in sequence from the decompression melting of asthenospheric mantle and partial melting of subduction-metasomatized depleted mantle(Stern and Bloomer,1992;Dilek and Furnes,2009;Whattam and Stern,2011).However,ophiolites with MORB and/or oceanic-island basalt(OIB)affinities are rare,and their origin and tectonic nature are poorly understood(Boedo et al.,2013;Saccani et al.,2013).It is interesting that the composition of these ophiolites from the central Tibetan Plateau(CTP)is dominated by MORBs and minor OIBs and a distinct lack of IATs and BONs,which is inconsistent with most ophiolites worldwide(Robinson and Zhou,2008;Zhang et al.,2008).But the generation and tectonic nature of these ophiolites are still controversial.*In this study,we present new geochronological,mineralogical and Sr-Nd isotopic data for the Chayong and Xiewu mafic complexes in the western Garzê-Litang suture zone(GLS),a typical Paleo-Tethyan suture crossing the CTP(Fig.1).The Triassic ophiolite in the western GLS has been described by Li et al.(2009),who foundthat it mainly consists of gabbros,diabases,pillow basalts and a few metamorphic peridotites.The ophiolite has been tectonically dismembered and crops out in Triassic clastic rocks and limestones as tectonic blocks.The Chayong and Xiewu mafic complexes are generally regarded as important fragments of the Triassic ophiolites(e.g.,Jin,2006;Li et al.,2009).Zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb ages of234±3 Ma and 236±2 Ma can be interpreted as formation times of the Chayong and Xiewu mafic complexes,respectively.The basalts and gabbros of the Chayong complexexhibitenrichedMORB(E-MORB)compositional affinities except for a weak depletion of Nb,Ta and Ti relative to the primitive mantle,whereas the basalts and gabbros of the Xiewu complex display distinct E-MORB and OIB affinities.The geochemical features suggest a probable fractionation of olivine±clinopyroxene±plagioclase as well as insignificant crustal contamination.The geochemical and Sr-Nd isotopic data reveal that the Chayong mafic rocks may have been derived from depleted MORB-type mantle metasomatized by crustal components and Xiewu mafic rocks from enriched lithosphericmantlemetasomatizedbyOIB-like components.The ratios of Zn/Fet,La/Yb and Sm/Yb indicate that these mafic melts were produced by the partial melting of garnet+minor spinel-bearing peridotite or spinel±minor garnet-bearing peridotite.We propose thatback-arcbasinspreadingassociated with OIB/seamount recycling had occurred in the western GLS at least since the Middle Triassic times,and the decompression melting of the depleted MORB-type asthenospheremantleandpartialmeltingof sub-continental lithosphere were metasomatized by plume-related melts,such as OIBs,which led to the generation of the Chayong and Xiewu mafic melts.

Cross-sectional rainfall observation on the central-western Tibetan Plateau in the warm season:System design and preliminary results

The central and western Tibetan Plateau(CWTP)is characterized by harsh environment and strong interactions among the spheres of earth as well as significant changes in climate and water cycles over the past four decades.The lack of precipitation observations is a bottleneck for the study of land surface processes in this region.Over the past six years,we have designed and established two observation transects across the south-north and the west-east in this region to obtain hourly rainfall data during the warm season(May-September).The south-north transect extends from Yadong Valley on the southern slope of the Himalayas to Shuanghu County in the hinterland of the plateau,with a total of 31stations;the west-east transect extends from Shiquanhe in the west to Naqu in the central TP,with a total of 22 stations.The observation dataset has been applied to clarify the spatiotemporal characteristics of precipitation in the CWTP,to evaluate the quality of typical gridded precipitation products,to support the development of regional climate models,and to reveal the processes of summertime lake-air interactions.The observation dataset has been released in the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center.

Lacustrine record of 800 yr hydrological variations on the central Tibetan Plateau

Zige Tangco is a meromictic saline lake located on the central Tibetan Plateau.Two parallel cores(ZGTC A-1 and ZGTC A-2)were collected from the lake at a water depth of 25 m during summer 2006.The chronology of core A-1 was reconstructed based on the Constant Initial Concentration(CIC)model of 210Pb and three accelerator mass spectrometry(AMS)ages from the chitin fragments.The hard water effect calibration of the sediment ^(14)C age showed that the reservoir effect ranged from 1655 yr at 1950 AD to 1540 yr at 1610 AD.The hydrological variation in Zige Tangco during the past 800 yr was reconstructed using multi-proxies,including organic and carbonate content,stable isotopes of fine-grained carbonate minerals(<38.5μm)and grain-size distribution of the lake sediments.Our results show that there were strong fluctuations in the lake level between 1200 and 1820 AD,and at least three dry periods were recorded between 1235 and 1315 AD,1410 and 1580 AD,and 1660 and 1720 AD characterized by high carbonate content,abrupt positive shifts of stable isotopes,and high sand content.The low-lake-level periods during the Little Ice Age(LIA)in Zige Tangco correspond to the lower δ^(18)O values in the Guliya ice core and the lower precipitation reconstructed from tree rings in Delingha.This demonstrated that the summer monsoon on the central Tibetan Plateau weakened during the dry and cold periods,whereas the winter monsoon strengthened.Relatively wetter periods or higher lake levels in Zige Tangco occurred at 1580-1650 AD and 1820-1900 AD.Negative shifts in stable isotopes were related to increased lake levels between 1800 and 1820 AD.Our results also showed that the summer monsoon precipitation on the central Tibetan Plateau was mainly controlled by solar activity during the past 800 yr.

Holocene climate change in the Central Tibetan Plateau inferred by lacustrine sediment geochemical records

Multi-proxies of lacustrine sediments, such as total carbon (TC), total organic carbon (TOC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), total nitrogen (TN), total sulfur (TS), hydrogen index (HI), oxygen index (OI) and stable carbon isotopic composition of organic matter (δ^(13)C_(org)), were analyzed using a 7.3 m core from Zige Tangco. The source of the organic matter in the sediment was mainly from autochthonous phyto-plankton, therefore the significances of proxies can be interpreted as that high TOC, TOC/TS, HI and δ^(13)C_(org) values, low TC, TIC values corresponded to warm and wet climatic condition, and vice versa. The process of climatic development in the Zige Tangco region was hence recovered. During the early and Mid-Holocene, the climate was warm and wet and intensive cold events occurred during the periods of 8600 to 8400 cal a BP and 7400 to 7000 cal a BP. In the second half of Holocene, the climate became cold and dry gradually. The palaeoclimatic process during Holocene in Zige Tangco region matched well with that in Co Ngoin region which is ca 40 km to the south-east. Therefore this palaeoclimatic process represents the Holocene climatic feature in the Central Tibetan Plateau which has the same pattern in the Northern Tibetan Plateau, but the time and duration of some climatic events might be different. We can conclude that in Holocene solar insolation controlled the climatic pattern on the central Tibetan Plateau.

Bridging the knowledge gap on the evolution of the Asian monsoon during 26–16 Ma

The evolution of the Asian monsoon from the Late Oligocene to the Early Miocene is poorly understood.Here,we first reconstruct the precipitation data of central Tibet during 26–16 million years ago(Ma),applying the coexistence approach to sedimentary pollen data,and detect an intensified Asian monsoon with
1.35 Ma and
0.33 Ma cycles.Paleoclimate modeling is used to show the importance of paleogeographic location in the development of the paleomonsoon.In addition,the results of spectral analysis suggest that the fluctuations in the Asian monsoon during 26–16 Ma can be attributed to the long-period cyclicities in obliquity(
1.2 Ma).These findings provide climate data that can be used to understand the Asian monsoon evolution during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene and highlight the effects of paleogeographic patterns and long-period orbital forcings on the tectonic-scale evolution of the Asian monsoon.